Help Us
by Dana-Jellybean
Summary: When the dead begin to rise and start eating other people, Jess and her friends are less than prepared for the danger they are in from both the monsters they call 'Walkers' and other survivors.
1. Help! My lecturer's a zombie!

It just…happened. There we all were, sat in one of our final lectures listening to our lecturer, Ronald, talk about the principles of groundwater when he stopped mid-sentence. To be frank, I hadn't really been listening at all, I was doodling in my workbook pretending to get something important down so it looked like I was a good student, until I heard people begin to shout. I looked up into a sea of commotion, students staring at the front where Ronald had fallen to the floor with laboured breaths. Two of my class mates, Natalie and Oscar, had rushed forward to help him; I would of too but it was one of those moments where you couldn't really grasp what was going on.

"I think he's having a heart attack!" someone shouted from behind

Natalie fumbled around, not sure what to do "Someone get help!"

Oscar, who had been standing beside her and Ronald, ran out the door seconds after she had shouted those words. Natalie, distraught, tried to calm Ronald down while the rest of the class muttered and panicked in their seats as we all watched Ronald die in front of our very eyes. I looked around me, to Jane who was sat beside me, and to the other faces in the room; they all looked like Deer caught in the headlights. I turned my attention back to Ronald and Natalie as soon as I had grasped that everyone else- myself included- was absolutely useless.

From the front row, I could see Ronald's life slowly slipping away; Natalie could see it too, she had turned pale and was shaking as she tried to keep the poor guy alive but it was not much use. We all watched as Ronald gasped for air and those on the front row watched as his chest movements slowly ceased to exist. Silence fell upon the room. At first, I did not believe he was dead. I kept watching his chest for movements, but there were none…not even the faintest of rises. It was a rather surreal moment, I think everyone thought that, to have your lecturer die of a heart attack on one of the last days of term. I couldn't help but look around at the handful of students who sat in the room with us, all of them were unmoving as they struggled to come to terms of what had just happened. I looked at the door and wondered where Oscar was, and if he had gotten the help Ronald needed- well. Had needed.

Finally I turned my attention to Natalie, who was crying beside Ronald's motionless body as if he was some great hero. Alexis made her way to the front after a minute or two, to comfort her friend. I glanced down, trying to think of something to say but I couldn't. Nerves usually set me off into a rambling mess, talking about anything and everything; however I couldn't even put a simple sentence together. I had never seen someone actually die before.

"Look!" someone shouted from further down the front row

Looking up, I could see what this person was pointing out. Ronald's hand was twitching and his body was beginning to move again. Everyone had begun to mutter again but I kept quiet. I felt as if I was suddenly in danger, a primal feeling had begun to stir inside me as I watched Ronalds body move- it was dread.

"Ronald," Natalie said, sniffing as she leant over him to check that he was actually alive "Ronald are you okay?"

That's when Ronald- or at least what was Ronald- suddenly leant up and latched onto Natalie's neck using his teeth. Natalie screamed gutturally, then Alexis screamed and then everyone else began to scream too. Blood streamed from where Ronald was literally _mauling_ Natalie alive as her body twitched violently but by that time, everyone was one their feet; except Alexis who was stood shaking staring at Natalie getting eaten alive. I scrambled to my feet, tripping over my backpack as I did. Everyone else was running in a sea of chaos, jumping over seats and pushing people out of the way in an attempt to escape.

By the time I had gotten to my feet after tripping over my bag, Ronald had launched himself at Alexis and was now trying to eat her too. Natalie was dead, or at least I thought she was until she sat up- her mouth a jar in a permeant gasp. For a few seconds I was frozen, my brain was trying to compute what the fuck was happening but flight or fight took over and I soon found myself running too- back pack in hand- away from the lecture theatre.


	2. Extinguish the Fire

I didn't run very far before I had to stop and lean against the wall in order to catch my breath. Panting, I ran my hands through my hair as my legs shook so heard I feared they would give way beneath me and then I would not be able to keep running. I had no idea if Ronald and Natalie were following me now, but I honestly did not want to find out. Whatever they had become, after death, it was not certainly something I wanted to become- I didn't want to die. I knew everyone dies, but I did not want today to be that day for me.

Regaining some breath, I turned to carry running down the stairwell when I heard more screams and commotion coming from below. I froze, half crouched on the stairs as my worst fears began to unfold in front of me. A girl ran, or stumbled, after a young looking nurse who was covered in blood and screaming, sobbing as she tried to escaped the monsters that followed. I watched as one of the girl who growled and made animalistic sounds tackled the other down messily before she began to tear the person in front of my very eyes. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming as more of those things began to join it- not many only one or two- but that was enough to tell me that going out this way was not safe.

So, I retraced my steps and found myself running back upstairs to try find a way out that was blocked by flesh eating people; though I soon learnt that a clear exit would be hard to come by. I found myself on the floor of the lecture theatre again, thinking that I was safe. There was no way that those things could open a door? I was wrong. As I ran down the corridor, towards where the fire exit was, I saw a door crash open and Alexis, Ronald and Natalie all fell out into the corridor. Somehow Natalie managed to stay on her feet, while Ronald and Alexis remained flailed on the floor.

I came to a sudden halt "Fuck."

Natalie, who was still gawping around, saw me and began to shuffle quickly towards me. Not wanting to end up like one of them, I desperately looked round for something hit it with or even perhaps kill it. Ronald and Alexis were slowly beginning to get up off the floor, growling, and Natalie was getting ever so closer still. Turning to my left, there was a wall and to my right there was a wall; both of which were fucking useless to me because at any moment Natalie would be chowing down on me. Spinning round, I saw a fire extinguisher a few feet back down the corridor; my only chance.

Glancing back briefly, as if to just check if Natalie was still in pursuit, I made a mad dash for it. Natalie, must have caught on that I was trying to escape since she began to hobble faster as I sprinted for the extinguisher. My heart beating hard against my ribs, I grasped onto the red cylinder and tried to pull it off the wall but it wouldn't budge.

"No…." I muttered, before progressively getting louder and more violent with my tugging "No, no no!"

I looked down the corridor at Natalie, who was getting closer and closer by every passing second. When she was only feet away, I put all my strength into my last tug. With a crash, it came cluttering off the wall, my arms dropping at the sheer weight of the little thing; it caught me by surprise but I somehow managed to keep my balance. I thought about pulling the tag, to send a jet of cold CO2 at the creature but then I decided against it; what use would essentially air be? None. I had to think of another plan, and fast. Natalie snarled as she reached me. _I'm going to have to swing it _ I thought fast.

At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to swing it round and hit her because it felt too heavy; then I would become like her. Closing my eyes with fear and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I used my whole body to swing the fire extinguisher up towards Natalie's head. There was a sickening thwack as the metal cylinder hit something- most likely her skull- and I heard Natalie stumble. Opening my eyes, I saw that she was down for a moment but she was slowly regaining her slightly slumped posture so I hit her again. Raising the cylinder over my head, I bought it down on hers again and again, one after another I hit her with the cylinder until she was on the ground. Not satisfied that she was dead, I kept hitting her again and again. The whole room filled with the stench of congealed blood and death as Natalie's head slowly got pummelled to mush.

Panting, I slowly stopped hitting her over the head- or at least, what had been her head. I stared at her dishevelled body for a few seconds before I heard a sudden growl; before I could look up, I was knocked to the ground by a second creature. I had completely forgotten Alexis and Ronald were still 'alive' and were still getting to their feet when Natalie attacked me.

Alexis, snarled and gnarled her teeth as she tried to get a good bite but I held her back the best I could. My arms shook and I screamed as she struggled against whatever force I was forcing upon her; Ronald stumbled quickly towards me, teeth bared and eyes placid and glazed, ready to do the same thing he had done to Alexis and Natalie.

I gasped for air as tears fell down my face. This was it, I was going to die.


	3. The Girl

It was a stroke of luck really, that one of my other class mates happened to stumble out of the lecture theatre alive. It was a rather, unfortunate stroke of luck however because she was very noise as she came clattering out of the room looking for an escape and so caught the attention of Ronald and Alexis. Both turned towards her, tilting their heads to the side as they're hungry eyes locked onto the poor girl; it gave me the chance I needed.

While Alexis was distracted, I used my whole body so that I twisted ourselves around so that I pinned her down on the floor. Pinning one arm down, I used my free hand to grab the fire extinguisher. Her hands grasped at my clothes, knotting the fabric in her cold hands and pulling me forward to her bared teeth. Crying out, I managed to somehow hit the side of her head with the extinguisher as I pulled it towards me causing her movement and grasp to pause briefly which allowed me to put an end to her 'life'. Like I had with Natalie, I bought the heavy metal cylinder down on her over and over again until I was absolutely certain she was gone.

Shaking, I sat straddled over the corpse of Alexis watching the blood soak into the carpet when I heard desperate cries behind me "HELP!" HELP!"

Turning, I saw Ronald had got hold of my classmate and was just ripping into her shoulder with his teeth. I bounded to my feet and ran towards them, raising the extinguisher over my shoulder. With one clean swing I hit the side of Ronald's head and with a sickening crunch, the side of his skull began to cave in. He dropped to the floor and was in a spasm for a few moment in an attempt to get up on his feet again but there was no chance of that happening because I bought the extinguisher down on his head again, and again until he too fell still like the others.

The girl, the one who had been attacked, was slumped against the wall screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. I turned to her, seeing that blood had leeched into her shirt from where Ronald had bitten her; kneeling down I slowly looked at her tearful face.

"You need to be quiet…" I said, my own voice shaking

"He…Help…please" she screamed, sobbing loudly

"I'll try…but you need to b-" I began, but cut off by movement outside the end of the corridor

I heard what sounded like a crowd of people, running up the stairs I had- minutes before- come up myself however it was not people who were heading in our direction, it was not a group of policemen coming to our rescue. It was a group of those things, I could hear them snarling and spitting and groaning as they stumbled noisily up the stairs; they must of heard the commotion. Looking from the door, back to the girl who had finally fallen silent, I knew I had to make a horrible choice.

Slowly I stood, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. Noticing my movement, the girl turned to me wide eyed "Hey…."

I didn't even apologise, I just turned and began to walk back down the corridor. The poor girl called after me, she even tried to grab my leg as I passed but she missed and fell onto her side crying. I quickened my pace as her screams became even more desperate and louder the further I went. _She was going to die anyway…_ I told myself. As I reached the fire exit, I heard the doors round the corner burst open and the poor girls screams for help become more terrified, almost as if she were an animal who knew it was going to be slaughtered.

Knowing I wasn't safe here, I didn't glance back as I pushed on the fire exit door and walked out onto the stairwell. I made sure the door was shut behind me, before scampering down the concrete stairs; trying not to listen to the girls screams which followed me. I kept telling myself she was probably going to turn anyway but it didn't make me feel much better anyhow.


	4. The Prime Minister's Speech

Somehow, I made it home. Somehow, I had run all the way home from the university. Clearly, those things had begun attack people in and around the city as the roads were blocked and people were looting, there was gun fire and police trying to do jobs but failing miserably; chaos other than those things had erupted in town but I did not pay attention. All I remember, briefly, is snaking between cars that were parked at a standstill until I reached my halls of residence. People here had seemed to get the same idea as those in town, many were trying to leave. Much to my surprise our hall manager George was nowhere to be seen- he must have fled before the chaos started.

Pushing my way past people and into my block, I ran to my flat. My hands fumbled for the keys as I unlocked the door, with extinguisher still beside me. Slamming the door behind me, I collapsed to the floor and began to cry. There was a moment, where I thought I was alone but then Josh poked his head out from around his bedroom door with a slight frown on his face.

He was silent for a moment "…Kat-..lyn?"

Karl, one of the other flatmates, peered out from round his door with a smile on his face. It faded though and was replaced with a look of only slight confusion "What happened to you?"

At first, I wasn't sure what he meant but then I looked down at myself and saw that I was covered in blood; I was caked in the stuff which was slowly beginning to dry on my clothes and skin and in my hair. My sobs became louder and more erratic as the sudden realisation that I'd _killed_ 3 people and had left one for dead today hit me like a train. Both boys stood there, aimlessly for a few minutes as I screamed at the top of my lungs- my whole body shaking with each sob- before Josh approached slowly.

"What the fuck happen Katlyn?" he asked, with a tinge of anger to his voice

I tried to form words but I just couldn't.

"Why are you covered in blood?" Karl said questioningly

"What's going on guys…" Sarah slipped out of her room and into the corridor

It was as if the questions had lit a fuse to a bomb, and I was that bomb. After each and every word had hit my ears, I exploded with almost and angry cry of anguish "THE DEAD ARE COMING BACK TO LIFE"

There was silence. Obviously, what I had just said sounded utterly ridiculous; no one should ever believe someone when they tell you that the dead is up and walking. The dead rising from the grave was absurd and wasn't scientifically possible. My friends, were sensible and did not believe my words; what I said was crazy and with me covered in blood, I probably looked it too. They all looked at one another with slightly shifty glances and it was a good 5 minutes before any of them actually spoke a word.

"Don't be stupid…" Josh laughed it off as if it was a joke "The dead just can't come alive again"

"IT'S TRUE!" I sobbed, tears streamed down my face "I SAW THEM! I SAW IT HAPPEN!"

"Now Katlyn, you need to calm down and tell us what really happened."

"RONALD DIED AND THEN CAME BACK TO LIFE AND KILLED NATALIE FLEGLING" I screamed

Josh was just about to say something when the door opened and banged into my back. Through the small gap that was open, Jane slipped in and closed the door swiftly behind her; she was panting hard and looked round at them with a sheer look of panic on her face.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked

"RONALD…Dead…killed…Natalie…dead…" she gasped out in a mess of a sentence. She glanced at me briefly, seeing that I was covered in blood she looked away.

"SEE! SEE!" I shouted pointing at Jane desperately wanting the others to understand

"I don't know what you two have been having in your coffee, but I want some" Josh joked, laughing slightly at the end of his sentence

"This Is Serious Josh!" Jane snapped at him angrily, her hands shaking

"Uh…guys" Karl spoke up, his iPad in his hand "You might want to have a look at this…"

Jane, Josh and Sarah huddled round Karl to watch whatever he had playing on his iPad. I didn't have the will to stand up so I simply listened to what it was saying as I leant back against the door:

_Great Britain is under attack _– spoke some posh London male, most likely David Cameron- _in the early hours of this morning, it is understood that a virus has been set loose on the US and has also spread quickly to the United Kingdom. This virus is contagious and fatal if one come into contact with an infected person…_- there was a bit of muttering before he continued _– the infected being the dead. It seems that this virus reanimates the dead, who are violent and will attack you on site. We at Parliament advise you to stay away from the infected, stay in your homes and do not attempt to travel anywhere _(the message had clearly come too late for some). _Remain calm, our police and military are trying to k-_

That's when Karl turned the video off. They all looked at me and Jane before each other once they had realized that this was it.

This was the end of the world.


	5. The Sanity I Left Behind

I let the shower water run over my skin, watching the water pooling in the bottom of the shower turn crimson red. Josh and Jane had taken a long time trying to persuade me to go get cleaned before they discussed the situation but I didn't move; my body felt dead, empty. Jos had to drag me into the shower room, closing and locking it from the outside so that I could get showered in my own time. I don't know how long it was I sat on the cool bathroom floor, crying, but it was enough time for the sun to begin to set.

Now my skin was relieved from the film of dry blood and skull fragments, I had begun to feel slightly better but that could not stop the events of today playing over and over in my head. Every time I shut my eyes I saw myself attacking Natalie with the fire extinguisher, seeing her head crumble beneath each hit and see the 'life' leave her glazed eyes. I held onto the wall of the shower as I steadied myself, my legs beginning to shake again and my eyes filled with water; the shower water mixed with my tears as I asked myself _how? How could I have killed those people…._ My thoughts crossed to the girl I had left behind near the lecture theatre and I felt guilt rack through me as I remembered her screams as I selfishly tried to escape without her. _I didn't even know her name. _

Once the water stopped turning red around my feet, I turned off the shower and got out. I looked at blood stained clothes and then at the small towel Josh had chucked in after me; I decided there was no point on traveling all the way to my bedroom to get dressed again so I just stuck my once-grey shirt and my jeans on again. The blood had hardened, making the shirt itchy against my clean and fresh skin; and though it had dried I could still smell the freshness of the stuff. It reeked of death, rotting flesh, making me gag. Taking in a deep, brave breath, I went to the kitchen where everyone else was waiting.

Josh looked up at me as I walked into the room, his face blank from sympathy "Feel better after your shower..?"

I didn't say anything at first, I just slipped into the spare seat in the corner of the kitchen-diner but then I nodded and replied "Yeah…."

There was a minute or two before Josh spoke again "Right, what's actually going on out there? What Cameron said on the radio is a hoax right? Like war of the worlds"

I shot a glare at Josh while Jane spoke up "Did you not hear what he said?"

"I did," Josh said "but it just sounds a bit unbelievable to me"

"We saw it Josh, we saw the infected!"

I kept quiet. Jane had cleared off quicker than I had when Ronald had returned from the dead suddenly and so I was unsure to how much she had seen. She seemed to have gotten control of her emotions, it was clear she had a grasp on them since her hands were no longer shaking and her words were no long jumbled sentences. Judging this, I guessed all she had seen was the occasional infected running about down in the atrium and of course Ronald and had somehow made it back with her mind in one piece. I did not feel so lucky, I felt like a wall was being broken down and I was powerless to stop it now my actions had been cast.

"You haven't actually told us what happened…." Karl spoke as if he had just joined the conversation

All their eyes fell on me. Jane had told them what she had seen after she'd come through the door but she had not been the one covered from head to toe in blood when she arrived. Questions were still unanswered by me, and it was obvious that they wanted some; I worried that all but Jane would not believe my story. It was a pretty hard to swallow. Shifting awkwardly in my seat, I prepared to re-account what had happened over the last two hours. I was nervous so I began in the wrong place "Well…I woke up this morning and went over to Uni for Water… it was dull until Ronald had a heart attack. There was nothing odd about it, other than the fact he was having a heart attack in front of all of us; he doesn't seem…or didn't seem like the kind of person who would suffer one…anyway…he died there in front of us. Natalie Fledgling had tried to help but it didn't work….then he started to move again. We all thought he hadn't died, that his breathing had become too shallow for us to see"

I glanced at them all

"At least that's what I thought…the next thing I know…Ronald has his teeth lodge in Natalie's throat…." I spoke slowly, as emotions began to bubble inside. I struggled to keep a straight voice "..I ran, everyone ran…Alexis didn't make it out…I tried to go down the main staircase but there were others so I returned back to the second floor- bit stupid now you think about it…"

They all listened intently, politely as I tried to tell them as much as I could.

"…..basically I ended up having to beat Ronald's, Alexis's and Natalie's heads in to escape…" I told them, not mentioning the girl I had left behind "…that's why I was covered in blood"

They were all quiet, glancing nervously at one another. I didn't blame them, how safe would I feel if I was sat at a table with a murderer of not one but three separate people? Not very. I certainly would no longer trust what they'd said which made my story about how Ronald somehow magically rose from the grave a whole less believable. I found my hands peeling the blood off the seam of my shirt; I was nervous, I just wanted someone to speak.

"….so you killed someone" Karl said bluntly

"I didn't kill them!" I snapped, shouting loudly. I felt blood rush to my face as I became angry at him "They weren't a 'them' anymore they were the walking dead!"

"How do yo-" he began before Josh intervened

"Okay…so…..Ronald, Alexis and Natalie are…dead…"

"…dead twice over more like.." I mumbled

"Okay…" Josh paused before turning to me, tilting his head with slight confusion "Why the head?"

"Pardon?"

"Why did you go for the head?"

I shrugged, resting my elbow on my leg and then resting my chin in my hand. I thought for a few moments before I came up with my answer. "I hit Natalie first with the extinguisher and once she'd stopped moving it seemed to work so I did the same with the others…"

"Okay…weird…" Josh said, mostly to himself, as he began to think.

We were all very quiet for a few moments until the slightly awkward silence was broken by a knocking at the door. I jumped in my seat, startled by the sudden noise. I almost screamed, but I managed to keep the noise inside me. Looking at one another, we all listened to the desperate knocking that erupted from the other side of the door. I was to scared to move, so after a while Sarah pushed her chair out and disappeared from the kitchen; after a moments silence from her, she shouted back to us.

"It's Riley and Poppy" she said, opening the door

I had to repress a groan. Riley was a good chap, nice, enjoyed lord of the rings and stuff like that; sometimes he could be a bit odd but then again so could I. Poppy on the other hand was not someone I really wanted to see come the apocalypse; we were not on the best of terms for reasons and she had not spoken to me in nearly 2 years. I had hoped that I would keep it that way or at least get her talking to me on a colleague level with no success; not that I really cared. I could hear her exclaiming loudly what was going on outside the halls.

"There are dead people everywhere!" she shouted, bounding into the kitchen- her purple coloured hair swinging around her shoulders- and looking round at every single one of us except me. Figures.

"So we've heard…" Josh said

"So you've seen them?" Liam asked from the doorway, where he loitered

Josh shook his head, nodding towards myself and Jane "No, but those two have…apparently Ronald became one of those things…"

"He died of a heart attack" Jane said almost excitedly "And then he came back…"

Keeping her eyes off me "We saw some off Kings Street, near the Sainsbury's. We'd heard the announcement David Cameron had done and so headed straight back here! I thought we were going mad"

"So did I…" I muttered to her, but she of course did not reply.

I may have been pretty sane when it came down to seeing the creatures but I felt like that sanity was slowly dripping away like water from a leaky faucet. Drip. Drip. Drip. I needed to find a way to block the leak before it became too late.


	6. Taking Charge

Usually, I would have wanted to take the lead but today I just leant back in my chair and watch them all discuss what was happening. For a long while, I listened to them joke about how this would be a great idea for a horror story or something then about how they thought it was a new strain of the Ebola virus; then the argument began to get heated between Poppy and Josh so I zoned out for a while. I didn't know how this thing had started, whether it was the government's attempts to make super soldiers gone wrong or some sort of chemical weapon dropped by Korea or even the Ebola virus, but I doubted I would ever find out.

As the continued discussing the cause and the infected themselves, I stood and edged my way to the kitchen window and looked outside. Osmond Street was full of cars, trying to escape the city. Car horns honked as the lines barely inched forward with every passing minute; I wondered how long people had been stuck in their cars and how long it would take for the infected to find them. Hopefully, they were just localised to Kings Street else all those people in the cars were in trouble. And therefore so where we. I shifted myself so I leant against the countertop, staring out into the street as the conversation shifted into what to do.

"I say we leave" Poppy instructed "Head to the countryside or something"

Hearing this, I turned to her "I don't really think that's an option…"

"No one asked for your opinion."

I ignored her childish comment "The roads are blocked, none of us have cars. I doubt trains will be an option…"

"She has a point…" Riley said slowly

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Poppy scowled, looking at Riley. It was almost like she was annoyed that he hadn't taken her side, and that he had taken mine instead. Regardless, her point was valid and I stood there for a while wondering what we should do but nothing came to mind.

"I don't know…" I admitted

"We could go by foot" Karl said perkily

Jane laughed satirically "And if those things chase after us?"

I looked over at her "She's right… those things can be fast…"

The room, after that. Fell exceedingly quiet, everyone cast their eyes downwards not wanting to utter another word. I could feel what they were all thinking in the air, it was a morbid sort of feeling; the kind of one that tickled the back of your neck and made your stomach tense. I rubbed my arms, scratching at where the blood had dried and now peeled off- I was nervously waiting for someone to tell everyone our plan. The one we had all devised in our heads but did not want to tell because we all knew it was a risky one, one that could possibly lead to our deaths but I saw no other way. The streets were gridlocked, we didn't have a car. Our only other option was…

"We're going to have to stay put." I said, cutting the silence like a hot knife through butter

Shifty glances were shot in my direction but they I could tell they'd accepted it was the only way. Josh turned to me "But what about Holly?"

"Holly?" I asked, only then remembering then that his girlfriend was back in Yorkshire. I looked at him as the wheels turned in my head, trying to figure out a plausible way for her to reach us. Was Yorkshire infected too? Were the infected _everywhere_? These were questions I needed the answers too but would sadly probably not find out until it was too late. "She could try get the train…"

"You just said trains wouldn't be an option" Poppy snapped

"They won't." I turned to her "The roads are blocked, people without cars will try get the train and then people who have cars but can't move them anywhere because the roads are blocked will try get the train. The trains will be over packed. It won't be the pleasantest journeys nor the safest."

"So it is still an option?" Poppy said, looking round the table for support

"No…" Riley replied "We don't know how this thing spreads yet, I don't think being packed on a train is the best option at this time…"

"Riley's right…" I said "I mean, it might not just affect the dead…"

I thought back to that morning lecture. Rodger had been dead when he had risen from the dead, Natalie was also dead when she'd become one of those things and as for Alexis I didn't know because I had not waited around long enough to find out; however I could assume that she changed just the same. Cameron had mentioned something about coming into contact with the infected, but by what I had seen I guess that was always a fatal experience. I looked at Josh, who was sat there busily texting Holly; desperation on his face.

"So now what do we do..?" Sarah asked, having been quiet for a long time.

"Well…" I bit my lip as I thought of a quick plan "If we're staying here…we're going to need supplies"

"We haven't decided if we're staying here yet." Poppy shouted

"Look," I began, my tone blunt "You don't have to stay here. No one's stopping you. Go off on your own if you like"

I noted how she didn't move or say anything to my comment.

I nodded "Right then…as I was saying, we need to get supplies"

"Where?" Karl said "And with what money"

"It's the end of the world…." Sarah stated "I don't think anyone will really care if we use money or not"

Everyone laughed, except me, at Karl's comment. It was nice to hear people laughing but I didn't feel like I could laugh at the moment; my mind was far too distracted by too many things. I was running ideas and plans and scenarios through my mind while struggling not to remember the events of today. I somehow doubted that those would be the last horrors I would see. A car honk followed by shouting made me jump. I turned to the window, expecting to see the infected but there was no sign of panic. Only citizens arguing in the street, people getting out their cars and beginning to wall towards town again and others remaining in their cars. I was almost thankful for the chaos in the streets. It made me feel safe and secure even though I was fully aware of the dangers that lurked out in the shadows of the alleys and streets.

"We need to make a list" Riley chuckled "Of what we need to get and stuff…"

"We'll need food" Poppy said with her excited tone of voice

"Stuff that doesn't go off"

"Like Cereal" Karl grinned. Sarah smiled with him.

"We'll need weapons and medicine too" I added "Something to make sure the gates are secure…"

"We'll also need seeds and things for when our food runs out…"

"What about water?" Poppy asked

"The boilers hold plenty of fresh water" Riley said "Usually it's made safe with chlorine"

"How do you know that?" Jane said, astonished

Riley shrugged.

"Right" I said, slightly louder than the conversation at the table "We need to make a list…"


	7. 23

We worked into the night- most of the others had returned to their beds. I woke in the kitchen, slumped against the table with my head resting against my arms which acted like a pillow. I groaned as I shifted back in my seat. I wondered when I had gotten to sleep last night, but I came to the conclusion that I must have passed out from exhaustion because there was no way I would have gotten to sleep naturally. Not with what was running through my head. Even now, when I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my hands, I could see the images of yesterday's incident flash through my mind again.

I flinched, opening my eyes. It was still sinking in. I think I had gotten over the death of Natalie, Alexis and Ronald but the guilt of leaving that poor girl still hung over me; it's presence was overbearing, it was almost as if it was stood beside me with its hand on my shoulder. Biting my lip, I suppressed the urge to mourn over the girl's death- over the girl who I didn't even know the name of. I should have asked someone else but I was scared too. Killing the dead was all well and good- but the living? That was a whole other ball game.

I snapped out of my train of thought when Josh entered the kitchen; he too looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Morning…" I said, my voice strained and hoarse. _Have I been crying in my sleep? _I wondered, rubbing my eyes to check for tear stains. There were none. "Sleep well?"

"Mornin'" Josh replied, nodding as he took the seat beside me "No, not really. Been trying to get hold of Holly for most of the night"

"Any luck?"

"Last I heard from her was she was on her way to Derby, she had no seat to sit in because the train was packed with people…" Josh said, placing his hands on the table.

There was a worried look on his face, one that hinted slight desperation too. I didn't blame him, Holly was so far away; it was likely that she may not make it to Derby alive. Well, in the technical sense. I'd met her on occasion and I found her to be really nice; we would roll our eyes at the stupid things Josh did, we could understand things boyfriends-.

My thoughts stopped in their tracks as a horrible gut feeling overwhelmed me "Josh…"

"Yeah?" he asked slowly, frowning

"I called…Dean yesterday didn't I?" I looked at him, less hopefully than I should of. Dean was my boyfriend, he would have been at work yesterday when the disease hit.

When Josh shook his head and told me know, I dashed out of the kitchen. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How could I of been so selfish?!_ I thought to myself as I threw open my bedroom door and searched for my mobile. When I found it, I saw that- of course- my phone wasn't bloody charged. I hurriedly plugged it in and waited for it to load. I could feel Josh watching me as I watched the screen desperately for signs of life. There was a little tune, and the next thing I knew my home screen appeared with a very scary message- 24 missed calls.

I immeadielty tried calling Dean, ignoring the notification. When there was no answer, I decided to check my voice mail. As it rang, I desperately waited for someone to tell me that all these messages were from him; I began to pray he was all right. Finally the voicemail lady spoke up, telling me the stupidly high number of messages I had and that she was going to play message 1.

"KATTTTT ANSWER YO-" Josh's voice echoed down the phone

I deleted that one and moved on. 23 voicemails now, the moment I clicked for the second one I heard a familiar voice on the other end of the phone "Hey Katlyin, just calling you to check you're alright. Just heard the announcement on the TV"

"Katylin- are you okay? It's Dean, call me when you get this"

"Kat?! Answer your phone."

"Katlyin?"

"Katlyin, please tell me you're okay. I can't get out"

All the voicemails from Dean were like this. The further I went the more panicked his voice became, the more my mind- still fragile- began to crack; I could feel tears flooding to my eyes as I listened to every single voice mail. All 23. I covered my mouth as soon, the voicemails just became empty sighs and given up words. The automated voice rang out in my ear, telling me I had reached my final message. I listened intently.

"Katlyin? I can't talk right now. Something's happened, one of the coffee ladies has a fever and we don-" there was loud banging and shouting from the background. I could hear one of those things through the ear piece.

"No…" I whispered as the voice message continued

"Oh Fuck!" there was the sound of his phone falling perhaps, I couldn't really tell because there was shouting, screaming, banging of a door and the sound of a creature echoing through the speaker. After that, the line went dead and the message ended.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen blankly, tears running down my cheeks. I was in shock, I couldn't move. I just stared at the END CALL button on the screen, the voice repeating the same instructions over and over again, not wanting to finish the call. I think Josh was trying to talk to me but my brain didn't register it I he was; I think it had broken the moment I realized that Dean had been in a room with one of those things. I couldn't jump to conclusions, I had to try calling him. My fingers fumbled for the right numbers but eventually I managed to get the correct order and press dial; I pressed the phone to my ear but it was pointless. The phone was unavailable.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I didn't know what to think of it, but for some reason my heart had still shattered into hundreds of pieces like glass. I didn't know what to do, so I cried. _Fuck it._


End file.
